Chapter 7

**The Strongest Explorer**

To varying degrees, anyone who has earned the qualifications of an explorer has once dreamed of becoming the strongest.

However, most people eventually give up on that dream.

When the job they obtained was not good.

When they experienced pain in battles with monsters.

When they encountered explorers far superior to themselves.

When they heard that those superior explorers had been severely injured or even died.

They give up for various reasons.

"People say, 'That's what it means to grow up.'"

"People say, 'What's the point of aiming for that?'"

"People say, 'It's not worth the pain to aim for it.'"

And they are absolutely right.

If you just want to live a normal life, there's no need to aim for the strongest.

After all, walking at the forefront of the dungeon means stepping into unknown territories on behalf of others.

It means paving the way for those who come after.

It might be a noble act.

It might be a respectable act.

However, at the same time, people think:

"What's the point of doing such a dangerous thing?"

"Why not let someone else be the canary and then proceed to the safe areas?"

"Why not make a profit safely and surely? Isn't that what a smart explorer does?"

And they are absolutely right.

Fools cannot reach the strongest.

The strongest is a being who possesses both knowledge and courage.

Therefore, the opinions of those who try to live wisely are not wrong.

However, however.

Who would win in a battle between someone who challenges the unknown and conquers it, and someone who only follows the path already walked by the former?

The answer is obvious...

---

"The one with the higher status values, of course."

I turned on the TV to gather information and happened to see a special program called "Japan's Strongest Explorers." I watched it, and to be honest, I felt a bit uncomfortable.

I didn't know that seeing acquaintances being glorified could be so embarrassing. This must be what they call empathetic shame. I ended up learning things I didn't really want to know.

Still, I should consider it fortunate that I confirmed several facts through this broadcast.

First, about the members of the Guild Knights.

They are composed of the five explorers with the highest levels among those affiliated with the guild.

The current members are:

- Level 45 [Sword Saint]

- Level 44 [Paladin]

- Level 44 [Ninja]

- Level 43 [Bow Saint]

- Level 43 [Grand Mage]

The members were the same as I remembered.

This means that at this point, the possibility that they have noticed the rewind is zero.

Because if any of them had memories, they would definitely try to secure me.

At the very least, they would surround me to prevent my escape or at least put me under surveillance.

The fact that they haven't done this means they don't recognize my existence.

This means they are not in the same situation as me.

For the same reason, it is clear that the guild members and executives who used me to make money, as well as the bureaucrats, politicians, and company executives who benefited from transactions with the guild, do not recognize me.

If the people who know my true identity don't remember me, it's convenient.

This means I can aim for the strongest without hesitation.

To aim for the strongest, the first thing to do... as I mentioned earlier, is to "increase the status values."

Yes, the most important thing for an explorer is their status.

"Experience? Skills? They don't matter!"

I wouldn't go that far.

Because if the status values are similar or only slightly different, it's not difficult to overcome the status difference with skills or personal abilities.

However, if the levels are about ten apart, the status difference usually overwhelms the weaker one.

No matter how skilled a master is, a level 1 explorer cannot match a level 10 amateur.

It's a matter of the difference in biological levels. That's the kind of world it is.

Therefore, if you seriously aim to be the strongest explorer, you must first increase your status values, then your level, and finally hone your skills.

What's important here is that "status values are listed first."

Basically, status values only increase when you level up.

So, you get stronger by leveling up.

Before the research on dungeons advanced, many people thought this way.

However, this idea was quickly revised.

Because the research results showed that "farmed" explorers were weak.

Basically, the status values that increase when you level up are randomly influenced by the actions you took before leveling up.

For example, if you mainly use physical attacks, you get a plus correction to STR, and if you mainly use magic attacks, you get a plus correction to MAG.

The same applies to defense. If you mainly use a shield, you get a plus correction to DEF, and if you mainly use evasion, you get a plus correction to SPD or DEX.

This also applies to negative corrections.

What this means is that if you do power leveling—letting others fight while you don't—the values that should increase when you level up actually decrease.

Moreover, while you can only get up to three positive corrections randomly, all status values can be affected by the decrease.

For example, a traveler, who should normally get a total increase of 83 (10 + 3) when leveling up, would only get a total increase of 72 (9 + 0) if they did power leveling.

If you take it easy, you get weaker.

In a way, it's a clear rule.

... You researchers in the guild. Didn't you know this would happen before you even started the experiments?

What do you mean by "travelers might not be affected because of their potential"?

They were clearly affected.

You did as you pleased because it was someone else's business.

I won't forgive those who played with people's status. Absolutely not.

I'll make the guild scum understand this later.

If taking it easy makes you weaker, the opposite is true. That is, "If a traveler, who is a versatile job, tries and fails repeatedly to level up, can they become the strongest?" However, reality is not that sweet.

Why? Because no matter how much you try and fail, the status increase values are still largely influenced by the job, which doesn't change.

Indeed, travelers are excellent compared to other jobs.

They have the potential worthy of being called a versatile job.

However, sadly, travelers are just travelers.

They are versatile but not the strongest.

Why are jobs like Swordman and Knight, which explorers get when they first become level 1, called basic jobs?

The answer is simple. Basic jobs can transcend to advanced jobs when they reach level 30.

The existence of advanced jobs is why basic jobs exist. It's a very clear answer.

These advanced jobs are said to be determined by the status values when the basic job reaches level 30.

For example, a Swordman can become a Sword Saint or a Sword Master.

A Sword Saint is more likely to be a Swordman with high SPD and DEX, while a Sword Master is more likely to be a Swordman with high STR.

This shows that the corrections obtained when leveling up have a significant impact.

Regarding the status increase values, I don't know much about Sword Masters because I didn't have one nearby, but I know quite a bit about Sword Saints.

So, for reference, let's compare the status increase values of the basic job Swordman and the advanced job Sword Saint.

Sword Saint Swordman

STR (Attack) 20 10

DEF (Defense) 10 6

VIT (Health) 15 8

MEN (Spirit) 10 6

SPD (Agility) 15 7

DEX (Dexterity) 14 7

MAG (Magic Attack) 5 0

REG (Magic Defense) 8 3

As you can see, the total increase value for a Swordman is 47, while for a Sword Saint, it's 97, nearly double.

With the plus 3 correction, the total increase value for a Sword Saint is a surprising 100.

This far exceeds the 83 for a traveler.

What about the advanced job for travelers? ... Surprisingly, travelers don't have an advanced job.

Or rather, researchers concluded that "travelers don't have an advanced job" because they didn't transcend to an advanced job even after level 60, but it's not certain that they don't have one. At least, my job has always been a traveler.

As a result, while travelers have an advantage in the early stages, the gap with specialized jobs widens as the level increases. By the time both reach level 50, the gap is so wide that I wouldn't dare to fight a Sword Saint head-on.

The same applies to other jobs, so just leveling up won't make me, a traveler, the strongest.

Understanding all this, how will I aim to be the strongest? It's simple.

I will use cheats.

My room contains a large number of items used by the world's strongest explorers at the time.

It would be a waste not to use them.

Among the literally countless cheats, the one I will use this time is the "Ring of Status Growth Rate Doubling."

As the name suggests, it has the effect of "doubling the status values that increase when you level up," which is worthy of being called a cheat.

Thank you for reading.

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